As one might expect, the first greatest story ever told is that of God creating the world and then sending His son to save us from our sins. Throughout human history, God has wanted His people to know Him, to love Him, and to Trust Him, but due to sin, this has not been an […]
The recent canonization of Saint John Paul II offers an impetus to reflect on both his life and his papacy. The Pope’s leadership of the Catholic Church was exemplified by his signature phrase “Be not afraid!” Yet, what exactly was he exhorting the faithful to face without fear? Pope John Paul II first uttered this […]
All of Rome is sold out for the end of this April. St. Peter’s Square, and every road around it will be jammed with people on Mercy Sunday (April 27, 2014). On that day, Pope Francis will announce the canonization of the most beloved Pope of modern times, Pope John Paul II. Never has there […]
Part I Part II When then Cardinal Wojtyla arrived at the 2nd Vatican Council, he had 1 question. What happened? Up until the 20th century, mankind was trekking along pretty okay. Yes, there were hardships; yes there was fighting. But in general mankind was doing okay, at least in terms of 100 year increments. Then […]
Throughout this Year of Faith it has become abundantly clear how important it is for each of us to live and to pray like Mary. Why? In the introduction to his October 1954 encyclical titled Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII explains it this way: From the earliest ages of the catholic church a Christian […]
The election of Pope Francis was generally an occasion of joy around the world, especially for Catholics in Latin America. His call for simplicity and authenticity in living the Christian life has been received with enthusiasm. His intended mission as Holy Father seems to be to model Christian living in the 21st century. He urges […]
The first step in renewing architecture in the Catholic Church is to make a commitment to the truth. As the Church teaches, Truth is a person, not a concept. We know the “Truth will set us free,” and so it is our desire to be free from any and all erroneous beliefs that enslave us. […]
Recently, Pope Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus, criticized the media for it’s continued misrepresenting of Vatican II. In response, NET (New Evangelization Television) debuted a 10-part weekly series called Vatican II: Inside the Vatican Council, on Thursday, February 21 at 8:30 PM ET. CNA/EWTN reported that “Pope Benedict XVI said that many of the misinterpretations of the Second […]
It’s Lent and time to take into consideration what we can do to strengthen our relationship with God and grow more deeply in our faith. Lord only knows how badly our world needs stronger faithful people! What better way to do that than adding extra time with the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist? Christ […]
For the last several weeks I’ve been teaching an online course about the role of the Catholic laity. We’d just gotten to the subject of personal vocation when the startling news came through: Benedict XVI was stepping down as pope. Posting a question that Monday morning to get my students’ discussion rolling for the week, […]
I am of the opinion that we cannot develop a proper evangelization and theology centered around the sacraments because of the way we currently practice our faith. Any proper evangelization begins at home, and we need to take a better look at some realities of our faith.
True as they all are, their answers are incomplete. They are means, not the end. Why does God wish to “marry us?” What is the purpose of God providing peace? As always, the answer may be found within the Scriptures
This month is a momentous one for saints in the Catholic Church. After naming two new doctors of the church this past Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will canonize seven new saints on Oct. 21. Among them are Marianne Cope, a Franciscan sister who founded hospitals in New York before nursing lepers in Hawaii, and Kateri […]
“From the beginning therefore he [man] is called to work. Work is one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose activity for sustaining their lives cannot be called work. Only man is capable of work, and only man works, at the same time by work occupying his existence on earth. Thus work […]
Catholics have long enjoyed the work of papal videographer Alberto Michelini. Now, under a special arrangement with the Vatican, a four DVD set on the life of Blessed John Paul II has been made available. It contains five hours of dramatic documentary footage, organized by topic into ten films that are each 30 minutes in […]
Most Catholics have heard about Saint Don Bosco and the order he founded based on the spirituality and charism of Saint Francis de Sales, today called the Salesians, which are divided up into Fathers, Brothers and Sisters. The idea of founding such a religious community within the Catholic Church was primarily to help young boys, […]
Another World Youth Day has come and gone, and with it, all the usual speculation about what it means. Ever since the late Pope John Paul II launched the international faith festival in 1984 by welcoming 300,000 young Catholics to Rome, the chattering classes have struggled to account for its appeal. That struggle continued last […]
Author’s Note: I read with interest Mary Kochan’s article on the Catholic Lane website, “Catholics, Please Say Something about Jesus!” I was somewhat surprised by the passionate responses, both pro and con, to her article. As I said in my own response to Mary’s article: “I think the argument should not be over what you […]
The swiftness of Pope John Paul II’s rise from popular pope to “Blessed John Paul” […] sparked widespread debate in advance of his beatification [Divine Mercy] Sunday. Critics charge that his failures in addressing the clergy sex abuse crisis should disqualify him from beatification, or at least stall the process. Defenders say his administrative shortcomings do not […]
Nearly 800 years ago, Pope Gregory IX, responded to shouts of “Santo Subito” (“Sainthood Now”) when he left the Lateran Palace in Rome and made the 120-mile arduous journey to Assisi (shown at left) to canonize St. Francis. Francis just wanted to be a humble hermit yet died a very public death in 1226, bearing the […]
In last Sunday’s Gospel we were told that the disciples had locked themselves in a room for fear of retaliation by the Jews. “Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” We are familiar with the story of Thomas and how he doubted his friends, so I do […]
HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI BEATIFICATION OF POPE JOHN PAUL II ST PETER’S SQUARE 1 MAY 2011 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace […]
Presented in cooperation with Greg Schlueter and JP2Journey.com: The JP2 Generation Tells Its Story, remembering World Youth Day 2002 and the impact of Pope John II. Part Eight, Fr. Edward Lohse The final day of World Youth Day 2002 began, in a manner of speaking, without our really having noticed it. Midnight arrived, and Saturday […]
It’s fitting that the beatification of Pope John Paul II will take place on Divine Mercy Sunday. His very presence on the global stage exemplified Divine Mercy. There have been 265 popes in the life of the Church. Eighty-one of them are saints. On May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday, God willing, Pope Benedict XVI will […]
